TOPIC: Passed CAPM 5/27/19

Just passed the CAPM earlier today, with Above Target in all knowledge areas! I'll share a couple thoughts, in no particular order:

1) As others have said, the PM Prepcast tests and quizzes are more challenging than than the actual exam. I was routinely failing the exam simulators and practice quizzes I was taking on the PM Prepcast. On the one hand, routinely failing my prep was disheartening and made me feel very nervous going into the actual exam. On the other hand, failing the practice tests prompted me to study a LOT harder, so I went into the actual exam very well prepared.

2) The actual exam did not allow right-click to cross out answer options (I took the exam at a Pearson VUE site). I liked this feature on the exam simulator and assume it would be available on the actual exam. I don't like that PM Prepcast got me used to a nice feature that I then didn't have in the actual test environment.

3) Cornelius may not like me saying this, but I didn't *actually* read the PMBOK. I lightly skimmed it, but could not get through an actual reading - it was just too dry. Tried but just couldn't do it. Instead, I watched all of Cornelius' CAPM videos twice through to make sure I really got the concepts. I made up a large chart documenting all ITTOs (which I studied to make sure I was really familiar with but did not actually commit to memory) and studied that along with the Process Groups / Knowledge Management chart (this chart I *did* memorized, and practiced writing the whole thing down from memory a few times - very glad I memorized this chart). Flashcards for the EVA formulas (including making sure I understood WHY the formulas made sense rather than just rote memorization). And I took *all* of the Prepcast exams and quizzes, and made sure that I carefully reviewed the answers afterwards. I think all of this helped me to really master the material.

Overall, I really appreciated the Prepcast's resources in preparing for this exam. Thank you!

Congrats!!! I'm scheduled for June 5th . I'm getting better but you are right the fact that the questions on here are so hard that it kind of throws you off, as in you don't know as much as you thought you actually do and actually start doubting yourself. Maybe the exam tests here should be qualified as easy medium hard.

Did you get lots of math questions? Lots of ITTOs? I'm working hard on both!

Are the questions here similar? I heard the CAPM is more about the terms and not so much "You are the Project Manager in your organization...." type of questions

Hi Martin, good luck on your exam!!

Yes, the PMPrepcast tests are much harder than the actual CAPM. If it makes you feel better - I took all 5 PMPrepcast exam simulators in the last month, I failed 4 of them and only passed one by the skin of my teeth. But when I took the CAPM on Monday, I passed with Above Target in all categories. So definitely don't doubt yourself too much. I found that doing poorly on the practice exams did motivate me to study a LOT, which did pay off and which I'm glad I did.

I only had one earned value analysis formula question (or maybe two?). Personally, I memorized the EVA formulas (and also made sure I understood them, not just memorized) so when these came up they weren't hard at all. And the exam has a built in calculator so if you freeze and forget what 4x5 is, you can just use the calculator. I had 3 questions where I had to draw out a schedule network diagram and calculate the critical path (just addition). I also had one question where I had to calculate the EVM in a decision tree.

There were a lot of questions where I needed to know the ITTOs to be able to answer correctly. I must admit, I did not at all memorize the ITTOs. I reviewed them a lot so I was familiar with them. What I DID memorize (which I'm very glad I did), was the chart with all the processes (with the Process Groups across the top and the Knowledge Areas down the side). I practiced writing out the whole chart from scratch a bunch of times until I could do it quickly from memory. So when the ITTO questions came up, I could quickly close my eyes and imagine where the question was pointing me on that chart, and from there the correct ITTO answer would just make natural sense.

The CAPM had a few questions that asked you to apply your knowledge to a situation, but most questions just asked you to show that you know the terms, ITTOs, can calculate critical path, etc. I also found that PMPrepcast questions throw you off with answers where it *feels* like more than one answer could be correct - with the CAPM, as long as you know the material, it was usually obvious which was the right answer.

I'm sure you'll do great - good luck!